Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Numbers 3:41
And thou shalt take the Levites for me (I [am] the LORD) instead of all the firstborn among the children of Israel; and the cattle of the Levites instead of all the firstlings among the cattle of the children of Israel.
41. instead of all the firstlings among the cattle ] This is inconsistent with Num 18:17 which enjoins that the firstlings of such cattle as are suitable for sacrifice may not be redeemed. The difficulty has been explained by supposing that the reference is to animals not suitable for sacrifice. But it is more probable that the present command dates from a later time when commands such as Num 18:17 were found impracticable.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Instead of all the first-born, to wit, such are now alive of them, but those which should be born of them hereafter are otherwise disposed.
The cattle of the Levites; not that they were to be taken from the Levites, or to be sacrificed to God, any more than the Levites themselves were, but that they together with the Levites were to be presented before the Lord by way of acknowledgment, that the Levites might be set apart for Gods service, and their cattle for themselves as Gods ministers, and for their support in Gods work.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
41. the cattle of the LevitesThese,which they kept to graze on the glebes and meadows in the suburbs oftheir cities, to supply their families with dairy produce and animalfood, were also taken as an equivalent for all the firstlings of thecattle which the Israelites at that time possessed. In consequence ofthis exchange the firstlings were not brought then, as afterwards, tothe altar and the priests.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And thou shall take the Levites for me,…. For his service, to minister to his priests, and serve in his tabernacle:
I [am] the Lord; who has a right to all, and can claim who he pleases for himself in a special manner, and therefore could and did take the Levites to himself:
instead of the firstborn among the children of Israel; these he had taken to him before, and ordered to be sanctified unto him, and for whom a redemption price was paid to his priests for the support of them, and the tabernacle service, and now it was his will to make an exchange of these for the Levites:
and the cattle of the Levites, instead of all the firstling among the cattle of the children of Israel: every firstling of clean cattle was the Lord’s, and given to his priests, and the firstlings of unclean cattle were redeemed with a lamb, and which were given to the same; and now instead of these he requires the cattle of the Levites; not that they should be deprived of their use of them, or that they should be taken and sacrificed, but that they should be with them devoted to him, and they should possess them in his right.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(41) And thou shalt take the Levites for me (I am the Lord) . . . Or, And thou shalt take the Levites for Mefor Me, Jehovah. The assertions which have been frequently made respecting the transference of the priesthood of the firstborn to the Levites appear to be altogether without foundation. For (1) the priesthood which was exercised in patriarchal times was not restricted to the firstborn, but appears to have been common to the head of every family. (2) This priesthood was exercised previously to the exodus, and consequently previously to the command given to Moses to sanctify the firstborn. And (3) the priesthood, which belonged not to the firstborn exclusively, but to the Israelites at large, was thenceforth strictly confined to the family of Aaron, who inherited it not as the substitutes of the firstborn, but in the place of the whole nation.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
41. The cattle of the Levites These do not seem to have been enumerated, but were estimated in the mass as equal to the firstborn cattle of all the other tribes. They were not all immediately sacrificed, nor were they taken from the Levites, but left in their possession to be sacrificed when needed. This is an impressive illustration of that stewardship of property required by Jesus Christ of all his followers. Having consecrated all their substance to him, they are to be ready to present it as a cheerful sacrifice at the first intimation of his will.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Num 3:41. And thou shalt take the Levites for me, &c. The Levites were now to be exchanged for the first-born males of the whole nation, man for man; and the cattle of that whole tribe, instead of the firstling male cattle of the whole nation; that so the Levites and their cattle, instead of the Israelites first-born men and cattle, might be given unto Aaron and the priests, to minister unto them, Num 3:45. This was for the first-born males of man and beast, which the Israelites now had. All the first-born that came after this, were to be redeemed, or given to the priests.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Num 3:12, Num 3:45, Num 8:16, Num 18:15, Exo 24:5, Exo 24:6, Exo 32:26-29, Mat 20:28, 1Ti 2:6
Reciprocal: Num 16:9 – separated
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Num 3:41. Instead of the firstborn Such as are now alive of them; but those which should be born of them hereafter are otherwise disposed of. Cattle of the Levites Not that they were to be taken from the Levites, or to be sacrificed to God, any more than the Levites themselves were; but they, together with the Levites, were to be presented before the Lord by way of acknowledgment, that the Levites might be set apart for Gods service, and their cattle for themselves as Gods ministers, and for their support in Gods work.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
3:41 And thou shalt take the Levites for me
(I [am] the LORD) {f} instead of all the firstborn among the children of Israel; and the cattle of the Levites instead of all the firstlings among the cattle of the children of Israel.
(f) So that now the Levites should satisfy the Lord for the first born of Israel, excepting the 273 which were more than the Levites for whom they paid money.